Sounds too good to be true? You’re right. Odds are it’s a scam. Don’t risk it!!

It happens like this. Someone calls, emails, or notifies you by mail. All you need to do is mail or wire a small amount for taxes and fees to claim your prize.

Just hang up the phone or ignore the letter/email.

Never wire or send money to anyone, anywhere, who says you’ve won a prize.

NO LEGEITIMATE LOTTERY SHOUD ASK YOU FOR MONEY TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE!!!

IMPROVE YOUR ODDS

Older Americans are often targeted by scammers. Speak with your older loved ones about the consequences of foreign lottery scams. A few protective measures taken with their consent and a simple conversation about avoiding scams could be the winning ticket to preserving their financial well-being.

Confirm frequent unknown domestic or international calls

Monitor all accounts for unusual activity

Identify unknown and recurring payments

Discuss repeated wire-transfer patterns of checks that are made out to cash

Notice stacks of sweepstake offers or prize notification letters around the home

Act cautiously when dealing with offers that sound too good to be true

Hang up if you suspect a scam

Discard emails

Avoid the pressures to act “right away”

DON’T GAMBLE IT AWAY

Report the crime
Contact local police and the Federal Trade Commission. If mail is used to contact the victim, or if the victim sent money to the scammer by mail, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Notify each involved business
Includes wire-transfer services, banks, and shipping and phone companies. Alert all financial institutions, which often share intelligence with law enforcement.

Manage online identities
Use passwords that are not easily identifiable, containing letters numbers, and symbols.

Contact the Social Security Administration
Protect your Social Security payments. These scams may put your benefits at risk.

Close financial accounts
Close accounts involved in a fraud and explore security options with banks to protect assets.

Check credit reports often
Place a fraud alert on our credit reports and review regularly.